ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish authorities on Saturday arrested three people in connection with a deadly blast at a rocket and explosives factory in the capital Ankara last week, state media reported.
Five workers lost their lives when an explosion rocked the MKE Rocket and Explosives factory located 40 kilometers east of Ankara in Elmadag province. The factory where the blast took place belongs to Turkey’s state-owned Machinery and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE).
Authorities on Saturday arrested “3 suspects … for the crime of ‘causing the death of more than one person by negligence,’” state-owned Anadolu agency reported, citing a statement from Elmadag’s public prosecutor.
Three other suspects were arrested but were later “released on condition of judicial control,” according to the report.
Ankara Governor Vasip Sahin attributed the explosion to a “chemical reaction” inside the department of the factory that specializes in preparing dynamite. He said that five workers were trapped under the rubble after the blast but were rescued.
In October of last year, a blast in a coal mine in the Turkish Black Sea province of Bartin killed at least 41 people.
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